MASTER CLASS FOR DRESSAGE
THE opportunity to learn from one of the country’s best will be afforded to ticket holders at the Total Equine Queensland Horse Expo this month in Toowoomba.
Australian Champion Freestyle Dressage rider Tor Van Den Berge will be at the Toowoomba Showgrounds and will run a dressage master class at 10.15am on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28.
The master class will give audiences an insight into how one of the world’s best riders trains and prepares his horses for shows.
“Master classes are very big in Europe,” Mr Van Den Berge said.
“People generally go for the entertainment and my wife and I will talk while we’re training the horses in the arena.
“In a lot of ways, it’s more about showing the horse.”
Tor humbly credited the quality of horses – and a fair bit of luck – with his successes around the world.
“I have been very lucky to have the horses that I have had and been very lucky to have the good ones.
“I came from a horse family – they broke in racehorses and performance horses and I started getting involved.
“From there, I started doing eventing and then crossed across to dressage.”
Tor has stayed with the dressage sport code which has seen him compete, and win, Grand Prix events around the world.
He said there have been some standout horses in his riding career.
“The highlights have been Jaybee Alabaster, from Laidley, who went to the World Young Horse Championships in Germany,” he said.
“Then there was Fisherman’s Friend who was long-listed for Kentucky, and now Lauries As who is on track for Rio.”
But despite the luck with great horses, Tor said achieving success at the prestigious events came down to the basics.
“We will have a nice young horse there (in Toowoomba) to show where they start coming up through their training, as well as a Grand Prix horse at the master class,” he said.
“It is a precision sport but it’s all about getting the basics right first.
“Dressage is easier than people make out and it’s about keeping it simple which gets you to the top.”
For more information on Tor, visit the website www.teamvdb.com.au.